A still life with roses, chrysanthems, poppies and other flowers, oil on canvas, 63.2 x 54.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Galerie Frost and Read, London (1978).

We are grateful to Mme Claudia Salvi, Paris, for confirming the authenticity of this painting (certificate dated June 2012). Dutillieu was one of the art historically interesting and to date little researched court painters to the family of the Sun King. He was the son of the impoverished Norman nobleman, Francois Le Pezant du Tillieu, who had learnt to paint under Charles Le Brun. As an apprentice to Cauvin, Charles Gilles Dutillieu was trained at first as a decorative painter. The attention of the Duchess of Maine, the daughter-in-law of Louis XIV, was drawn to the young artist through some of his still lifes and magnificent coach decorations. She commissioned Dutillieu to decorate some of the salons at the palaces of Sceaux and Anet. He later worked for the Prince de Condé on large-scale decorations at Chantilly. Towards the end of his career, he was awarded his most important commission. In collaboration with François Lemoyne, he executed the large-format ceiling decoration in the Louvre, entitled Le Triomphe d’Hercule. Dutillieu was admitted to the Académie as early as 1720. It was here that he made the acquaintance of Oudry, with whom he collaborated on several projects. Dutillieu’s works evince the great elegance and courtly refinement of French still life painting towards the end of the Grand Siècle.